If music be the food of love, play on.

debt·or  (dtr)

n.

1. One that owes something to another.

2. One who is guilty of a trespass or sin; a sinner.

Click here to listen to Bach's Cantata BWV 168.

A godly man, Bob Marley, is quoted to have said, “One good thing about music, when it hits you, you feel no pain”.  Marley’s presence and music undoubtedly expanded my view of humanity and of spirituality.  Music is my therapy.  I use it as a way to alleviate stress, let loose and connect with my higher power.  Typically I wouldn’t use, my therapeutic melodies to prove a point in my Government class blog, but Pay Up!  Bach’s Debt Cantata, by David Yearsley gave me a great excuse to make an exception. 

In Mr. Yearsley’s blog, he is correlating Bach’s cantata, Thue Rechnung (BWV 168), written in 1725, to the behavior of our political leaders during the most recent debt ceiling crisis.  I find it hard to translate this delightful blog and doubt I can give it due credit, but I will try.  “Thue Rechnung” translates to “pay up”.  The cantata suggests to listeners that they should manage money morally in life, because when meeting your maker in the sky, he will audit your accounts and it will truly be known what kind of a man that you were.  It urges the notion to not make money just for financial sake and argues that poor men and capitalists alike will pay the same debt in the end.  He makes note of religious political leaders that correlate debt and sin synonymously and relates them to the frantic behavior of the Tea Party members, such as Ted Cruz and Paul Ryan. 

While this blog is not argumentative or  political fact filled, for me, the message of it hits the nail right on the head.  I think it is important to look at our past and listen to those who set out to change the world and succeeded.  Johann Sebastian Bach was arguably the best composer of his time and his intellectual mind was beyond compare.  He  voiced a message written in the Bible that was largely silenced, “No servant can serve two masters, Ye cannot serve God and mammon.”  While I consider myself to be more spiritual than religious, this message is very profound to me and I correlate it closely with what has been happening lately with our government crises. You cannot serve healthy morals when monetary gain is the ultimate goal.

Nonetheless, I am unsure as to David Yearsley’s credibility in the political arena. The fact that his blog is leaned left with no regard for the right makes me question his ability to write fair. I do know that he has his Bach facts on lockdown.  I think that this particular message is credible due to its validity in today’s financial based society.  I believe that his target audience is liberal music lovers, but most music lovers could at least appreciate his correlation and quick wit that is found throughout his writing.

As I go forward with my days and I get lost in the hustle and bustle of my work day and busy school schedule, I am going to try and keep Bach’s message in mind… and I hope that my political leaders do as well.  That is, use money wisely, build a solid foundation, do not do business with the single goal of monetary gain, help the poor and to always do business morally.  I do not know the answer to our debt crisis, as I’m sure the majority of our elected leader do not either, but I do hope that they are attempting to make decisions that will carry our government’s financial stability and economic wellbeing into the future.  I guess only time will tell, and it will be FACINATING to be on the sidelines while it all plays out.